Clarence Randolph Yonge:

Some Myths Exposed.

by Terry Foenander.

There are several web sites on the Internet relating to Clarence Randolph Yonge, the paymaster of the CSS Alabama during the early months of her cruise. At least one of these web sites is supposed to have been written by an author who constantly claims to have much knowledge of the crew of the vessel, and who insists that no one knows these crew members as much as he does. However, an examination of the article on Yonge shows that, within just the first ten or so paragraphs of this article, there are numerous errors, at least three of which are major, and which, if left uncorrected, will create an absolutely false impression of the life of Yonge. Furthermore, another error has been discovered at a published source, but also with information provided by this same author, which creates further confusion about Yonge. It is rather unfortunate that the author of the web site on Yonge had once stated that he would never publish any material until these had been thoroughly checked for any errors.

I am now obliged to point out these errors, and to include the corrections, as well as the source of these corrections, to prevent any further damage in relation to the biography of Clarence Randolph Yonge. A traitor he may have been, but even he deserves better treatment at the hands of so called purveyors of the truth, than all the false material that has been placed online, and which is being spread by others reading this misleading article.

Because I have found so many errors within the first ten paragraphs, I have not taken the trouble to examine subsequent paragraphs for additional mistakes, and will only include here, those errors that I have located so far. The article, and the author in question shall remain nameless, but students of the Confederate Navy will probably know which article and author I am referring to. He has constantly referred to other researchers on the subject, by name, as being stupid, self serving egomaniacs, and made accusations that are completely false, but we will not stoop to his level, by including his name. It is rather a pity that just this one article on Yonge includes so many errors, and sad that he is relied upon by some researchers for material which is now considered as suspect. Additionally, links have now been added to some of the source notes evidence, because of the doubts of this particular author, who has been very insecure about the data. Thus the proof is now included for all to see.

Here are some of the errors, together with the corrective passages, and the source of these corrections (a full listing of all the sources utilised for correction of errors is listed at the end of this article):

Myth 1: The article in question (which I shall forthwith refer to as CRY - for Clarence Randolph Yonge) states that Yonge was serving at the Naval Paymaster's office in Savannah, Georgia, in November, 1862.

Fact 1: Researchers and students of the CSS Alabama, and her crew, are fully aware that Yonge had long since left the Southern States, and was, in November, 1862, aboard the cruiser, which was, at that time cruising the Atlantic. [See ORN 1, 1, 802-808 and ORN 2, 2, 448-449. This second named source is Commander James D. Bulloch's own dispatch confirming that Yonge had left for England the year before.]

Myths 2 and 3: Yonge is stated, on June 25, 1863, to have been court martialled aboard the CSS Alabama.

Facts 2 and 3: By June 23, 1863, Yonge had long since been dismissed from the CSS Alabama, and was already back in England, providing testimony before a jury relating to the Alexandra trial. [Alabama Claims Correspondence 5, 64-78.] All primary accounts from crew members of the CSS Alabama, and especially that of her commander, Raphael Semmes, clearly show that Yonge was dismissed immediately, without the privilege of a court martial, not even a court of general sessions. Semmes himself states, "Kell had suspended his [Yonge's] functions; and had sent on shore, and had him brought off under arrest. He had become partially sobered, and I at once ordered him to pack up his clothing and be off. He was landed, bag and baggage, in half an hour..." [Semmes 559; Sinclair 68; Fullam 82.] The author of CRY has clearly taken the liberty of making assumptions about a court martial, and obviously does not have a knowledge of military matters.

Myth 4: CRY states that Yonge was assigned the post of acting assistant paymaster on board the blockade runner CSS Lady Davis.

Fact 4: Yonge was already serving in the Naval Paymaster's office by the time Bulloch was ready to sail for England, in November, 1861. [ORN 2, 2, 448.] A muster roll containing the names of all personnel who were on the Savannah station between the years 1861 and 1864, shows his name and lists his position as a clerk only. [ORN 2, 1, 322.] The paymaster at this station was William W. J. Kelly, and most certainly not Yonge. [CSN Register, entry for William W.J. Kelly.] Bulloch had applied, on three occasions, to have Yonge's appointment as acting assistant paymaster approved by Secretary of the Navy, Stephen R. Mallory. [ORN 2, 2, 124 (dispatch dated January 3, 1862), 130 (dispatch dated January 13, 1862) and 132 (dispatch dated January 16, 1862).] On January 20, 1862, Mallory replied to Bulloch, thus: "There is a difficulty at present in the way of Mr. Yonge's appointment as acting assistant paymaster, and I suggest that you appoint him your clerk at $500, for which authority is given, and appoint him acting assistant paymaster when his services in this capacity shall be required," to which Bulloch replied, January 27, 1862: "I note your instructions in reference to Mr. Yonge and will act accordingly." [ORN 2, 2, 134 and 139.] At a later stage Yonge was provided with an official appointment as acting assistant paymaster, dated at Liverpool, July 30, 1862, and backdated to December 21, 1861, but, as is noted above, he had already left the Lady Davis by then, and therefore was never an acting assistant paymaster on that vessel. [Alabama Claims 1, 273.] Once again, the truth has been embellished.

Myths 5 and 6: It is stated that Lieutenants Kell and Low, in company with an armed party from the CSS Alabama had gone ashore and arrested Yonge.

Facts 5 and 6: Kell had never accompanied the party sent to arrest Yonge, ashore. He had authorised this party, but at least two primary accounts note that he never accompanied them ashore. [Semmes 559; Sinclair 68.] As for sending an armed party of Confederate Navy personnel ashore, on British sovereign territory, logic would indicate that such an action would create much consternation amongst the authorities on shore. Although Sinclair mentions that an armed party was sent ashore, it would be unwise to rely on his account, written more than three decades after the fact, and also with the knowledge that his account does include numerous errors. Once again, the author of CRY has taken liberty with the facts, and not bothered to conduct a proper check of such matters.

Myth 7: Yonge is stated to have indulged in regular drunken bouts, which seems to imply that he was a regular drunk.

Fact 7: An account by Bulloch states that Yonge was "sent on shore with 400 pounds to pay the Alabama's bills," and "that he got drunk." [ORN 2, 2, 449.] Sinclair himself states that Yonge, "Visiting the shore on duty, was reported to be guilty of traitorous communication with the United States consul, and of drunken consort with paroled seamen of the enemy." [Sinclair 68.] Semmes own account states that the "paymaster had been drunk ever since he landed, neglecting his duty, and behaving in a most disreputable manner." [Semmes 558-559.] Not one of these accounts indicate that Yonge had indulged in regular drunken bouts. I myself know of several acquaintances of mine, who are not regular drunks, but who at one time or another, have become highly intoxicated, and usually regret it after the fact.

Myth 8: Yonge is stated, after his arrival in England, to have commenced his duties, one of which is noted to have been the payment of officers attached to the CSS Alabama.

Fact 8: The vessel, then known as 290 or Enrica, was not to be commissioned until August 24, 1862, and, as such, Yonge could not have been paying officers attached to a vessel which had not yet been named as the CSS Alabama. [ORN 1, 1, 785.] Furthermore, at least three sources, including one dispatch by commander Bulloch, indicate as much (that the vessel was not officially named as the CSS Alabama, prior to August 24, 1862). Further denials by the author of CRY are just an indication of how insecure he has now become, and he will obviously continue to deny the truth, for fear of losing his reputation. The relative passages, from these three sources are, as follows:
"After this the men were released from their engagement as a crew for the Enrica and were asked to ship for her on the C.S. steamship Alabama. This took place on the 24th of August, 1862, at sea, more than a marine league from the Island of Terceira. Enrica was the name by which the Alabama was christened; 290 was simply her number in the building yard." [ORN 2, 2, 325.]
"The Bahama also fired a gun and cheered the new flag. Thus, amid this peaceful scene of beauty, with all nature smiling upon the ceremony, was the Alabama christened; the name "290" disappearing with the English flag." [Semmes 410.]
"The famous Hull "290" was launched under the name Enrica, put to sea from Liverpool on 29 July 1862 and proceeded to Porto Praya in the Azores where Captain R. Semmes, CSN, and her other officers boarded and fitted her out as a cruiser. She was commissioned at sea off Terceira, Azores on 24 August as the Confederate cruiser Alabama." [DANFS 2, 494.]

Myth 9: Another sentence states that the CSS Alabama was commissioned "at the Azores," on August 24, 1862.

Fact 9: Semmes' journal entry of August 24, 1862, categorically states that the cruiser, in company with the Bahama, went to sea, and after going some 4 or 5 miles from the town of Angra, officially went into commission, thus being commissioned, not at the Azores, but beyond the official territorial boundary of that nation. [ORN 1, 1, 785.]

Myth 10: Yonge is stated, in CRY, to have deserted his wife and her family, and left them out on the streets, with barely enough money to survive.

Fact 10: Once again, the truth has been stretched, and facts have been twisted around. In testimony given before the jury investigating the Alexandra trial, it is clearly shown that Yonge's wife was not left destitute, and she was with her mother, who had plenty of money. [Alabama Claims Correspondence 5, 76.]

Myth 11: The author of CRY, who often boasts about his vast knowledge of the Confederate Navy and the CSS Alabama, would have his readers believe that the Lady Davis, operating in and around Savannah waters, was a blockade runner.

Fact 11: Definitely a figment of his very fertile imagination. The 250 ton tug, Lady Davis, was never, in 1861, involved in blockade running activities. Her crew consisted of just on thirty or so personnel, including the officers. Any person with at least a cursory knowledge of the Confederate States Navy knows that no paymasters served on these smaller vessels of the Confederate Navy. A statement by her commander, dated in July, 1861, names eight officers, and not a sign of a paymaster amongst them. [ORN 1, 5, 655.]

Finally, it should be advised that Clarence Yonge did not die "about 1866, in Washington, D.C.," as the author of CRY has led many to believe, but was residing in Baltimore, in 1880. The 1880 United States census, for Baltimore, Maryland, shows that Clarence Yonge, aged 47, born in Georgia, was working as a clerk on the railroad there. Although he is listed as being married, he was then residing with several other workers, at a lodging owned and run by railroad engineer Julius Bertram, and his wife, Mary. [Information from the 1880 U.S. Census records, for the state of Maryland - 15th Ward, Precinct 6, Baltimore, Maryland.]

It is fairly obvious that the author of the Internet article (which was also previously published in a Civil War magazine issued by a group in the United Kingdom) on Clarence Randolph Yonge has taken many liberties with the facts, and has not bothered to check these facts thoroughly. He needs "to get out more," and is "clearly listening to the wrong people." If he spent as much time on doing proper and correct research, as he does in publishing and writing tirades, and making false accusations against others, perhaps he might get his facts correct. His article contains no citation of sources, thus attempting to misdirect others to the source of his material.

Sources:

Alabama Claims: "The Case of Great Britain as laid before the Tribunal of Arbitration, Convened at Geneva, Under the Provisions of the Treaty Between the United States of America and Her Majesty the Queen of Great Britain, concluded at Washington, May 8, 1871," published by the Government Printing Office, Washington, D.C., 1872. Citation includes volume and page numbers.

Alabama Claims Correspondence: "Correspondence Concerning Claims Against Great Britain Transmitted to the Senate of the Unite States in answer to the Resolutions of December 4 and 10, 1867, and of May 27, 1868," published at Washington, D.C., by Philp & Solomons, Booksellers, 1870. Citation includes volume and page numbers.

DANFS: "Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships," in eight volumes, compiled by the Navy Department, Office of the Chief of Naval Operations, Naval History Division, Washington; published 1963 (reprinted 1977), by the United States Government Printing Office, Washington, D.C. Citation includes volume and page numbers.

Fullam: "The Journal of George Townley Fullam: Boarding Officer of the Confederate Sea Raider, Alabama," edited and annotated by Charles G. Summersell; published 1973, by the University of Alabama Press, University, Alabama. Citation includes page number.

ORN: "Official Records of the Union and Confederate Navies in the War of the Rebellion," originally published, 1894, by the Government Printing Office, Washington, D.C.; reprint edition published 1987, by The National Historical Society, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. Citation includes series, volume and page numbers.

Semmes: "Memoirs of Service Afloat, during the War Between the States," by Admiral Raphael Semmes, CSN, originally published, 1869, by Kelly, Piet & Co., Baltimore; reprint edition published by the Blue & Grey Press. Citation includes page number.

Sinclair: "Two Years on the Alabama," by Arthur Sinclair, Lieutenant, CSN; reprinted by the Naval Institute Press, Annapolis, Maryland, 1989. Citation includes page number.

© Terry Foenander.

July, 2004 (Updated, December, 2004).